“There are no fathers and sons in the examination hall. One can only hope to be worthy of the sages’ teachings.”
“You think everyone in red robes is noble, but you don’t know that the poor can rise to the clouds.”
When he discovers that he is the grandson of Hanlin scholar Cheng Xuezhai, who was unjustly executed twenty years ago, and that he is entangled in a mystery surrounding the imperial bloodline, the imperial examination is no longer merely a contest for rank and distinction. It becomes a deadly struggle to clear his family’s name and uphold justice for all under heaven.
“I choose the scholar’s robe, not the golden seal.”
“Orchids bloom in secluded valleys, fragrant even when no one is there to admire them.”
From an impoverished student to a court censor, from their first meeting on a snowy night to standing together through life and death, Cheng Yanqiu and Su Zhilan uncover shocking truths about cheating in the imperial examinations, secrets within the palace, and factional struggles at court, as political intrigue and true love intertwine.
“Yanqiu, Yanqiu, can the warm waters of the inkstone pool turn you into a dragon?”
“When you pass the imperial examination, I will not regret the convictions I held at the beginning.”
